Club Owner Vows To Fight To Stay Open

LEESBURG — Painted on a wall inside Club 21 is a plea from management: ''Leave the fighting elsewhere.''

All too often, police say, ''elsewhere'' is in the vicinity of the club. Crime in the area is so rampant, Leesburg officials say, that they plan to seek a court order to have Club 21 shut down.

Club owner Dennis Maxwell cried foul Tuesday, saying he can't control what happens off club property.

''They've always had problems in this neighborhood,'' he said. ''But now they've got something to blame it on - they blame it on the club.''

Maxwell vowed to fight to keep Club 21 open, saying he would seek assistance from the Tri-City branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

''I've got a family - I've got seven kids to take care of,'' said Maxwell, 39, who has operated the nightspot at Main and East streets for about 20 months.

Maxwell said he believes the Leesburg City Commission's Monday night vote to seek a court order to have the bar declared a public nuisance may be racially motivated. The bar caters to a mostly black clientele.

Leesburg Police Chief Chuck Idell said Tuesday his recommendation for action against the bar was simply because Club 21 has become a ''public nuisance.''

''It's a neighborhood crying out for help,'' he said.

The chief also took exception to Maxwell's contention that what goes on away from the club isn't his responsibility.

''The common denominator, the common catalyst, is Club 21,'' Idell said.

A review of police records between Jan. 1, 1992, and Aug. 18 showed that police received 638 calls for service in a one-block area around Club 21.

This includes 106 for aggravated battery, assault and robbery; 43 for theft and criminal mischief; 125 for fights and shots fired; 119 for parking and traffic incidents; and 22 involving drugs. The Lake County Sheriff's Office also made 30 drug arrests during that period.

Essie Tucker, who lives down the street from the bar, said she hears gunfire coming from near the club occasionally and won't walk near it.

''Sometimes I get kind of scared. A stray bullet don't know which way it's traveling,'' said Tucker, 71.

Sam Amori Jr., son of the owner of Miller's grocery store next to Club 21, said violence around the club occurs late at night and hasn't affected the grocery store.

''We close at 8 p.m. and things don't really start happening until about 11,'' Amori said.

Maxwell has posted warnings on the walls both inside and outside the bar against use of drugs or liquor at Club 21, which has a license to sell beer and wine only. Security men use metal detectors to screen patrons for weapons.

Violence often erupts after the bar closes at 2 a.m.

Incidents - such as a drive-by shooting that wounded three earlier this month - often occur on East Street, which borders the club.

The 2,109-square-foot concrete block building that houses Club 21 dates to 1960. It's owned by Freddie Lynum of Leesburg, county property records show. The building and land have a combined value of $30,637.

''If they close this place, where we going to go?'' asked a man who refused to identify himself while standing across the street from Club 21 on Tuesday afternoon. ''Wherever we go, we're going to be trouble. Might as well stay here.''

Club 21 also is facing sanctions from the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco. Maxwell is appealing a $1,990 penalty for late payment of a monthly consumption surcharge. He was tardy with the payments from May 1992 to February 1993.

In addition, a division hearing officer recommended a 20-day license suspension and $1,000 fine last month for allowing patrons to gamble and possess drugs and for having liquor not authorized by the club's license. The case is pending.

Charles Lockwood, Leesburg's building official, said Maxwell responded after being notified of several code violations at the club in late January. He said the club had bad plumbing, improperly marked exits and electrical problems. Maxwell said he spent $3,000 on repairs.

Club 21 is the second Lake County nightspot to come under fire in recent months. In June, just days after six people were shot during a melee at Leesburg's Club 44, Circuit Judge Mark J. Hill in Tavares granted the County Commission's request to close the bar at least temporarily.

Theodora Brady and the club's former managers - Imran Kamadia, Sajjad Jawad and Sajjay Madhu - all have filed motions asking that the complaint against Club 44 be dismissed. Hill has yet to rule.